Tethered ball amusement device



July 12, 1960 K. s. s'rlLLl-:R

TETHERED BALL AMusEmzNT DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1958 INVENTORr Kenne LSiZZ'er ATTORNEYS A uw ww .0N mw @MN mw United States Patent O 2,944,817 TETrmRED BALL AMUSEMENT DEVICE Kenneth S. Stiller, Box 305, Southport, N.C.

Filed Feb. ze, 195s, ser. No. 117,765

Z1 claim. (cl. 213-26) which the tether extends through an opening in the ball with the terminal end of the tether positioned within the ball.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tethered ball device of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use, and which affords a maximum of amusement with a minimum of danger to the participants.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following speciiication when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal crosssection taken along the line 2-2 of Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal crosssection taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate likeV parts throughout the several iigures, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally an amusement device constructed in accordance with the invention. Y

The amusement device 10 includes a standard or regulation type baseball 11 having a central portion z12 encompassed by a sewed cover 13. The baseball 11 has a bore 14 extending centrally therein axially joined by an inwardly converging bore 15 opening through the opposite side of the ball 11.

A tether rope 16 extends through the bore 14 and is provided with a terminal knot 17 engaged in the inwardly converging bore 15 to secure the ball 11 to the rope 16. The opposite end of the rope 16 is spliced at 18 to form a terminal loop 19 thereon. A swivel, generally indicated at 20, has an eye 21 coupled to the loop 19 on the rope 16 and has a second elongated eye 22 swivelly joined thereto at 23. l

VA rope 24 is spliced at 25 to provide a terminal loop 26 coupled with the eye 22 of the swivel 20. An elongated tubular resilient flexible hollow handle 27 encom- Patented July 12, 1960 ICC passes the rope 24 and a portion of the eye 22, as can be best seen in Figure 2..

A knot 28 is formed on the end of the rope 24 opposite the splice 2S engaging the outer end 29 of the handle 27 to secure the handle 27 in encompassing relation with respect to the rope 24.

In the formation of the structure illustrated in Figure 2, the inner end 30 of the handle 27 is slid in telescoping relation over the eye 22 exposing the opposite end of the rope 24 a suflicient distance to permit the knot 28 to be formed. Then the handle 27 is moved into contact with the knot 28 in the position illustrated in Figure 2.

In the use and operation rof the invention, the handle 27 is held in the hand adjacent the end 29 thereof and the ball 11 at the opposite end of the rope 16 is whirled in a horizontal circle around the person holding the handle 27. -A second player with a regulation baseball bat (not shown) strikes the ball 11 so as to cause the ball 11 to move in a direction opposite to that it assumed when whirled by the first player.

The'use of the ilexible handle 27 prevents injury to other persons possibly coming in range of the handle 27 and prevents damage to the walls, door, furniture, and

other objects struck by the handle 27. The flexible handle 27 further is effective in absorbing the shock of the ball being hit so that the player whirling the ball is protected Ifrom the sting of direct shock which would be the case if a rigid handle were used.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted t to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A tethered amusement device comprising a baseball having a central bore extending therein and a second inwardly converging bore coaxial with said iirst bore, a flexible rope extending through said first bore, a knot on the end of said liexible rope seated in said inwardly converging bore securing said rope and said ball together, a spliced'loop formed on the opposite end of said rope, a second rope, a spliced loop formed on one end of said second rope, a pair of eyes having said spliced loops threaded respectively therethrough, a swivel connecting said eyes and coupling said spliced loops together, an elongated flexible hollow resilient handle having an l opening at each end encompassing said second rope and having one end thereof engaging partially over said swivel, and a knot formed on the opposite end of said second rope exteriorly of the other open end securing said flexible handle in position encompassing said second rope.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 196,324 Barnett Oct. 23, 1877 512,483 Patterson Jan. 9, 1894 667,563 Oakley Feb. 5, 1901 674,303 .Morgan May 14, 1901 2,186,016 Evans Jan. 9, 1940 2,547,776 Rankin Apr. 3, 1951 2,765,170 Brown ..c Oct, 2, 1956 

